J. Appl. Environ. Biol. Sci., 7(12)281-287, 2017 © 2017, TextRoad Publication ISSN: 2090-4274 Journal of Applied Environmental and Biological Sciences www.textroad.com Corresponding author: Noman Aftab, PhD scholar, Department of Psychology, International Islamic University, Islamabad. Email: nouman.aftab@uow.edu.pk, Contact no: +923138506178 Effect of Agreeableness, Openness to Experience and Hope on Well-Being among University Teachers Noman Aftab¹, Dr. Samina Rashid², Dr. Syed Asghar Ali Shah 1 ¹Department of Psychology, International Islamic University, Islamabad. ² Department of Psychology, University of Wah, Wah Cantt Received: September 2, 2017 Accepted: November 3, 2017 ABSTRACT The current study investigated the effect of agreeableness, openness to experience, hope and well-being among university teachers. Data was collected from a sample of (N=440) university teachers comprising of (n=200) female and (n=240) male from universities of Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Attock and Wah Cantt. Four scales were used including well-being scale, agreeableness scale, openness to experience scale and hope scale. Significant positive relationships of agreeableness, openness to experience and hope with well-being were found. Step-wise regression analysis revealed that agreeableness, openness to experience and hope were the significant predictors of well-being and hope was the strongest predictor of well-being among university teachers. Gender differences revealed that hope, well-being and openness to experience were more in male university teachers while agreeableness was more in female university teachers. The findings recommended that high traits of agreeableness and openness with high level of hope leads to high level of well-being. Also, female university teachers are more kind hearted while males are more creative and imaginative. KEYWORDS: Agreeableness, openness to experience, hope, well-being. 1. INTRODUCTION A critical and demanding role is played by university teachers. A university teacher is an individual on whom the important activities of the university are dependent and without a teacher, university is a body without having soul. The personality of teacher, well-being of teacher, teaching efficiencies, attitudes and style of life assists the students to become good human beings thereby adding to create a society full of knowledge. Wellness of any program in the education system to a large extent is regulated by teachers. The achievement standard and quality of education of a university are related with the teaching quality and teacher’s personality. Being good physically, psychologically and also with a balanced personality makes a teacher best. Because of the rapid progress in daily life, the teacher’s life has become more and more tough and challenging. The personality of the teacher makes an impact on the teacher’s behavior in different ways, for example in interacting with the students, selection of learning practices and the methods of teaching. The teacher's personality can have an effective role on the process of teaching. Pupils learn from the personality of a teacher even though there is no formal interaction between them. The instructor whose personality facilitates, creates and keeps classroom a learning environment in which pupils feel comfortable and encouraged to analyze, is said to have an ideal teaching personality. So, understanding teacher’s personality is very important. Personality trait of agreeableness is an inclination to be kind, forgiving, trusting, generous, concerned, helping and trustworthy [1]. Agreeableness might influence well-being. Highly agreeable individuals compared with the disagreeable individuals, are inclined to be involved in actions such as collaborating with others, conveying sympathy and care for others, giving others a sense of respect and politeness [2]. Consequently, agreeable individuals inclined to be well loved by their companions [3] and are more fruitful in creating satisfying and stable intimate relations [4]. The well-being of agreeable individuals might be boosted by these positive social relationships. Agreeableness is positively associated with well-being [5]. It means high level of agreeableness will lead to higher level of well-being. In the meta- analysis, [6] it was determined that there is presence of an association between personality and well-being. Agreeableness trait was held to increase the probability of positive experiences in social and achievement circumstances which was directly associated with the teacher’s well-being. Personality attributes of agreeableness and openness have been found to be related to well-being [7]. Another personality trait that can have an effect on well-being is openness to experience, which is a tendency to be artistic, curious, intuitive, intellectual, flexible and creative [8]. A teacher led by openness to experience tend to have more positive emotional state which leads to increased well-being. A significant relationship was found between 281