The competent psychology teacher understands personality theory from a variety of perspectives.

Knowledge Indicators-The competent psychology teacher understands factors associated with the construction, revision, and development of a self-concept and identity, understands how families, groups, peers, and communities contribute to the development of self and identity, and understands the role of perception, attitude, values, and beliefs in the development of self and identity.

Performance Indicators-The competent psychology teacher analyzes the impact of forces on development of self and identity (e.g., family, peer group, values, beliefs).

The competent psychology teacher understands that personality is relative to the individual. Each human being has a unique pattern of thinking, feeling and acting, which is defined as personality, and the competent psychology teacher is able to explain this to students, and also analyze the many different factors that shape an individual's personality.

The competent psychology teacher can explain to students, the various historical theories on the development of personality (e.g., psychoanalytic perspective-psychosexual stages, humanistic perspective-growth potentials, trait perspective-the ‘Big Five,' etc.), and is able to analyze which of these theories are most valid.

The psychology teacher has the understanding that self-esteem is an individual's feeling of self-worth, and that the level of self-esteem one has can affect his/her overall personality. There is also an understanding of the effect of culture on self-esteem. The competent psychology teacher is able to explain to students the differences between cultures that embrace individualism, and those based on the idea of collectivism, and he/she is able to analyze how these different types of cultural environments affect an individual's personality.

The competent psychology teacher also understands the nature vs. nurture debate and how each can influence personality development. The teacher is capable of analyzing the influence of genetics and environmental factors (e.g., family, peers, etc.), and can describe these influences to students. There is an overall understanding that both genetics and environment can influence personality.