Social Capital: Wellbeing, Theories, and Case Study

This essay delves into the multifaceted concept of social capital and its profound influence on individual and community wellbeing. It begins by defining wellbeing through subjective, psychological, and composite models, highlighting the significance of happiness and mental health. The essay then explores various theories, including the Authentic Happiness Theory, and bottom-up and top-down approaches, providing insights into how wellbeing can be achieved and sustained. It further examines the advantages and disadvantages of social capital, such as fostering leadership and networking versus facilitating crime and community division. A case study on the 2019 haze in Singapore illustrates the practical implications of social capital, showing how it can both benefit and hinder wellbeing. The essay concludes by emphasizing the importance of considering cultural, spiritual, and behavioral differences when implementing projects within a community, stressing the need for thorough research to ensure positive outcomes.

Running head: SOCIAL CAPITAL 1
Social capital
Name
Institution

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Social Capital
Introduction
Wellbeing is defined in three models, which include subjective wellbeing, psychological well-
being, and composite well-being. Subjective wellbeing refers to a self-reported status of well-
being, which entails cognitive judgments and emotional reactions that people use to describe
their quality of life. It is obtained through a questionnaire that helps in defining the positive and
the adverse effects and satisfaction with life. Subjective well-being is associated with happiness,
which is a sign of good health, indicating that one has no pain (Griffin and Ward, 2016).
Psychological well-being is about a positive relationship with other people, mental health, and
our emotions. It affects how we feel, think, and act and also how we handle stressful situations
and individuals, as well as making choices on different issues of life. The inclusion of mental
health makes psychological well-being essential throughout all life stages. Composite wellbeing
view subjective well-being and psychological well-being as mutually related but distinct in
functions and the methods used to measure each model. Composite well-being uses indices such
as the Human Development Index (HDI), which measures global well-being based on health,
safety, security, housing, environment, social life, and public management.
Theories and Concepts
Psychiatric research has recently escalated in the understanding of mental health and well-
being more than just the risk factors for mental health. Good well-being is an indication of long
life and healthy aging, resistance to disease, and a reduced rate of mortality.

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Hence science has made efforts to identify methods that can be used to determine the
mechanisms that contribute to well-being across the core domains of life. Various theories have
been used including;
The Authentic Happiness Theory
This theory states the wellbeing can be achieved through three distinct elements whose sake
determines our choices (Seligman, 2011). The three elements include positive emotions,
engagement and the meaning implication in our lives. The first element explains that wellbeing
is perceived through our emotional feeling: pleasure, comfort or even general satisfaction in our
daily lives. The second element of wellbeing is the enjoyment. In this element, the daily
endeavors that person engages in define their wellbeing. Engagement use a combination of our
cognitive and emotional resources to determine our well-being. In the third element, wellbeing is
determined by the meaning we perceive from our daily endeavors. Meaning in life refers to the
feeling that there is a bigger reward for everything that we do in life. Moreover, the third element
creates a sense of responsibility and belonging in our daily endeavors.
Bottom-up Theories
Centeredness theory is a type of bottom-up approach (Fu, 2012). The bottom-up theory
concept is that overall life is satisfaction is based on all five life domains. Centeredness theory is
a self-actualization theory that refers to a person's realization and fulfillment of one's talents and
potentialities. A centeredness theory occurs in the five domains of life, which include self,
family, relationship, community, and work. The self-domain is surrounded by the four others
indicating the interconnection and the balance or the imbalance within one domain facilitating
balance in all the domains. The theoretical framework focuses on one achieving a balance

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between one's inner person and the outer person. To achieve a balance between the inner
endogenous state, and the outer exogenous state, natural self-generated goals must be functional
and approach-oriented. The goals must also be harmonious with personal principles, and they
must be present in each life domain.
The theoretical framework emphasizes that the five domains can be expanded, each with
corresponding thought and behavior. Quality goals can be determined by consistent behavior
habits and awareness and hence promote the ability to self-actualize and increase well-being.
Centeredness theory states that the thoughts and actions within each domain influence the
opinions and the actions between all the domains, which then allow interaction and feedback
among them. Through the interaction and the feedback among the five life domains, an
individual can respond to the outer environment positively or negatively. The ability to reframe
stress, nurture awareness, to be mindful, and to formulate aware goals will enable one to self-
actualize and therefore achieve higher states of well-being.
Top-down Theories
Top-down theory states that domain satisfaction is based on overall life satisfaction, which
primarily depends on personality traits and genetic effects (Fix, 2018). The approach of this
theory is that happiness is based on a person's ability to interpret and evaluate experiences as
negative or positive in life. Each person views life scenes differently, and what is positive to one
person may not be favorable to the other. Hence, life satisfaction and happiness are based on
one's perspective, attitude, and belief.
Regarding the three mentioned theories, they both offer value and insight for increasing and
sustaining well-being. If the environment that one is functioning in does not favor an individual,

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then one seeks a new occupation, relationship, or residence. Change of one's beliefs and
perceptions about issues can also result in satisfaction and happiness since it all depends on what
one decides will be complete or incomplete to them.
Social Capital Advantages of Wellbeing
Social capital is the connections and shared values that exist between people and makes
operations to be functional and successful. The benefits of social capital include the
establishment of an individual as a leader or as a significant figure in the community and in the
groups that they are associated with. To be of value to others requires a contribution of ideas and
participation in activities which does not necessarily need reciprocation. Positive contribution to
society builds trust and establishes reputation (Ang, 2012). Building trust requires one to
contribute consistently in their area of expertise, sharing work as well as supporting others'
endeavors with advice and support. The second benefit is that once the person has contributed
positively to those around them, they can count on them in their time of need. Fostering
reciprocity is a pillar in social capital, and it can immensely give back even when one does not
expect much. Social capital's other advantage is that it creates strong teams between an
individual and the people they work with.
Achievements in a community are a result of the cooperation among the people living within
a region and at the same time, having mutual goals. In a community that has a high-density
community, social capital promotes networking. Networking is such a community that needs to
be advanced such that it will easy and quick for each person to access essential information that
is concerned with the community goals. Individuals can make use of social media to distribute
information.

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Social Capital Disadvantages of Wellbeing
Social capital can facilitate a lot of crime within the community (Takagi, 2013). Crimes can
be a result of the community disregarding small offenses, which end up being habits adopted by
some in society, and they become gross crimes eventually. Community division can also be
contributed by social capital, especially where some individuals don't want to cooperate in goal
achieving concepts (Whitham, 2012). The reason could be that these efforts may require them to
contribute funds and resources which they would not want to be involved in. Some would be
resistant because they feel that some would benefit and escalate business-wise, which could
result in a competition, which can be a challenge to their investment. Social capital can also act
as a barrier to social inclusion, where you find that people group themselves in categories based
on socioeconomic status. Such actions result in having some areas of the community developing
while others drag behind and hence, poor economic performance.
Case Study
The case study is about the implications of the 2019 haze on social capital wellbeing in
Singapore (July, 2019). The case study is using interviews and documents review to determine
how the extents of the impacts of the haze on services, programs and initiatives of the nation
were. The nation is investing in agriculture to cater for the national food programs. While those
who are investing are looking into spending little on land preparation, they take advantage of the
haze to prepare their farms by clearing vegetation, and burning them. Social capital, in this case,
has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that the city will increase property
value, and employment will be created for the residents.
The problems are that the haze implication spread across the nation hindering provision of
services, programs and initiatives. Hundreds of schools had to be closed due to the national haze

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disaster in order to protect the children from the unhealthy implications. The interests of the local
initiative proved to be difficult since the Pollutants Standards Index (PSI) inflate to 100 mark.
Moreover, several food programs had to be suspended. This affected the schools that depended
on the food programs. According to the environmental analysts, the haze implication was really
hazardous and affected the wellbeing of not only the workers in the inflicted sectors but also the
nation at large. The theory of bottom-up and top-bottom are both functional in the case study.
Sensitivity to Cultural, Spiritual, and Behavioral Differences in Communities
Collaboration in the community helps in building trust and also enhances security. The
investors and farmers feel safe when setting up their businesses in a community where they are
accepted. The community also feel valued when investors agree with the interests of the
community. Social capital can be affected positively or negatively by the culture, spirituality, and
behaviors of a community (Holloway and Moss, 2010). Therefore, when implementing projects
in a community, a person should consider how their investment will affect the culture,
spirituality, and the perception of the community. A community that is a staunch believer of their
religion may affect a business simply because their faith does not agree with your product. An
investor should also identify the acceptable and prohibited trends in the culture to avoid conflicts
of interest. The behavior in the community may contribute to the growth or failure of one's
business. Thorough research should be done before joining a community, whether for residence
or investment, and therefore decide whether it will be satisfactory and beneficial.

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