A Study of the Relationship between Positive Psychological States and Job Satisfaction of University Instructors

The current study aims at surveying the relationship between positive psychological states and job satisfaction of the instructors teaching at the centers belonging to Tehran Province ACECR Institute of Applied Science and Technology. Statistical population included all the instructors teaching at the centers belonging to ACECR Institute of Applied Science andTechnology of Tehran Province in the academic year of 2014- 2105 with a total number of 210, of which 118 (50 female and 68 male) were selected using random sampling method. Datacollection tools included: Rajayee et al Positive Psychological States questionnaire and job satisfaction questionnaire. Statistical analysis was performed using Pearson Correlation Coefficient, Regression, and Multivariate analysis of variance tests in SPSS software. The results of the correlation showed that there is a significant positive relationship between positive psychological states and job satisfaction (P≤0/01). Regression analysis also showed that there is a significant positive relationship (P≤0/01) between the components of positive psychological states and job satisfaction and that these components explain % 66 of the variance in job satisfaction. Furthermore the results of multivariate analysis of variance showed that there is no difference in the scores of male and female participants relating to the components of positive psychological states, but there is a significant difference (P≤01/0) between job satisfaction scores of the two groups. Positive emotions are one of the contributing factors to job satisfaction, therefore it is suggested that positive emotions be considered as one of the ways of increasing the level of job satisfaction in organizations and institutions.