The researcher‟s interest to explore college students‟ experiences of dietary patterns available to them and how they manage their nutritional requirements was guided by the socio-cultural-economic lens, which constitutes the theoretical framework for the study. Through this lens, the researcher emphasises the central notion that it is essential for educational administrators and the students themselves to ensure the provision of well-managed dietary patterns that promote, not only general health, but also enhance educational engagements. Whatever nutritional requirements students meet can best be explored and understood through the application of a socio-cultural- economic theoretical framework. In the context of this study, this framework posits that students access the dietary patterns that they experience on the basis of the social, cultural and economic circumstances in which these students are embedded.
The study of nutrition requires an understanding of biological processes as well as a consideration of socio-cultural economic factors (Wardlow & Smith, 2011:342). The
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study of nutrition and its impact on academic performance, therefore, requires a mixed approach in explaining the link between students‟ dietary patterns and their academic performance. More specifically, Abraham Maslow‟s (1970) Human Needs Theory, Lev Vygotsky‟s (1978) sociocultural Needs for Achievement Theory and Miller‟s (2011) Information Processing Model (IPM) constitute the philosophical grounding of this study. Thus the analysis and description of theoretical issues are guided by the three theoretical lenses. This study advances the argument that Maslow and Vygotsky provide a context for physiological and cultural approaches to understanding students‟ dietary patterns. On the other hand, the IPM theory deals with the biological basis of development which examines the network of brain activity during cognition and the nutritional needs of the brain to carry out the neurological functions. Information-processing theorists generally agree that knowledge is represented by patterns of activation across units in the brain (Miller, 2011:298).
Maslow‟s theory posits that one of the basic deficiency needs that motivate human behaviour is the physiological need of hunger satisfaction. By implication, the human needs theory suggests that the human body needs energy from food to engage in any form of work while at same time regulating neurological functioning (IPM) of the brain (Miller, 2011:328) and the foods selected for consumption among other factors cannot be explained in a vacuum, but in the context of particular socio-cultural demands and standards and economic conditions (Vygotsky, 1978:49).
2.2.1 Human needs theory
Maslow‟s (1943) hierarchy of needs is represented as a pyramid with the more basic needs at the bottom. The hierarchy is predetermined in order of importance. It is depicted as a pyramid consisting of five levels: the lowest level is associated with physiological needs, while the uppermost level is associated with self-actualisation needs, particularly those related to identity and achievement. Maslow (1970:23) theorises that the emergence of a new need usually depends on the prior satisfaction of a more basic or potent one. The satisfaction of a more basic need then sets up conditions for higher level needs to emerge. Conversely, the deprivation of a basic need causes a person to seek satisfaction of that need before seeking to satisfy higher level needs.
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Deficiency needs must be met first. Once these are met, seeking to satisfy growth needs drives personal growth. The higher needs in this hierarchy only come into focus when the lower needs in the pyramid are met. Once an individual has moved upwards to the next level, needs in the lower level will no longer be prioritised but if a lower set of needs is no longer being met, the individual will temporarily re-prioritise those needs by focusing attention on the unfulfilled needs, but will not permanently regress to the lower level (Santrock, 2002:85).
2.2.2 Vygotsky’s socio-cultural need for achievement theory
Vygotsky and the socio-culturalists argue that culture defines what knowledge and skills children need to acquire and that values and processes differ among different races, social classes, dual-career versus one-career families, rural versus urban communities, single-parent versus two-parent families, and so on (Vygotsky, 1978:47). They explain these phenomena by saying that a person‟s context shapes his or her behaviour, such as by influencing eating habits and determining priorities in learning. Distinct differences in nutrient consumption appear both internationally and among population subcultures because of food availability, preference, and social norms. These dietary trends are especially prominent when socio-economic status and ethnicity are compared. Correspondingly, academic performance varies greatly among cultures and subcultures. It is possible in this study to enhance the understanding of college students‟ food consumption patterns through exploring the ways in which socio-cultural factors play out on their access to nutrition and learning.
2.2.3 Information-Processing Model (IPM)
As alluded to earlier, the study of nutrition requires an understanding of biological processes. Information-processing theorists developed the Information Processing Model (IPM) and generally agree that knowledge is represented by patterns of activation across units in the brain (Miller, 2011:298). Information-processing examines the network of brain activity during cognition (Miller, 2011:328). The nutritional needs of the brain to carry out the neurological functions described by information-processing theorists is a major focus of this study and was carefully
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considered when the study of nutrition, brain and behaviour (Nutritional Neuroscience) is examined.