Hull's Theory Of Hierarchy Of Needs

Various learning theories contribute to one’s understanding of the effect of food on the process and ability of students to learn effectively. This study was anchor on the following theories: The first theory was the Theory of Hierarchy of Needs by Abraham Maslow (1943) as cited of (Kretchmer, Beard; Schmitt, 2010). “The Hierarchy of needs is structured from basic human needs to a more complicated one. These are physiological needs, safety needs, belongingness and love needs, esteem needs, and the need for self-actualization”. Maslow describes physiological needs of human as shelter, cloth and food. Food as a basic need is the most important needs that would help maintain homeostasis in the body and provide good health and can relieve hunger.

Hull’s theory of learning is focused on a stimulus and response. In this theory, the stimuli and response are the only observable events in certain a situation, he proposes that there is an intervening variable or a symbolic construct in every situation. The representations of the total learning situation include the following: first, when a stimulus (S) reaches on the organism it will result into a neutral impulse or body signal, in situations where there is more than one stimulus this will cause a neutral interaction. The neutral impulse caused by the stimuli results to a reaction (R). For example is poor nutrition which will result to poor performance. In this case the poor performance of the learners is the response from the need or the stimulus which is poor nutrition. In this theory, Hull postulated that “as part of the process of living, the organism finds itself in disequilibrium with its environment”. This implies that an individual finds itself deprived of something it needs such as the physiological need or the basic need which is food. “In this case drive becomes the state of tension that is associated with the need which causes the organism to become active hence energized. This process produces its own stimuli and its own response”. In this process, a desired condition is gained through satisfying the need. Once satisfaction or the desired need is attained, reinforcement will follow. The reinforcement is the final process which in turn promotes