Board Thread:General Discussion/@comment-6175354-20130930170041/@comment-22525977-20131001174151

I advise you to look up the actual symptoms of ASPD. Regina meets almost none of the criteria without external coaching from her mother; Snow meets enough for me to be suspicious of her, and Rumpel is inarguably one.

Let's go through the mayo clinic list:
 * Disregard for right and wrong
 * I already discussed why I think this applies to Snow; she's morally bankrupt and determines how moral it is to hurt someone based solely on how it will effect herself and her closest loved ones (no, refusing to do something "bad" because it will make YOU bad rather than because it's wrong does not count as being "good.")
 * Regina, on the other hand, visibly struggles with this. All her life, she's been taught that good/evil moralizing is less important than power and the pursuit of power; however, she still demonstrates an understanding of the fact that she has hurt hundreds if not thousands of people, that it was wrong, and that even though nothing can make up for that, she can at least try to be better in the future. (Causing people harm and later repenting is not the same thing as hurting people because you just don't give a fuck; lifelong habits cannot be broken in a trice no more than Rome was built in a day, and some backsliding is to be expected)
 * Rumpel claims to be trying for the repentance thing, and then immediately crushes Tamara's heart when she asks for forgiveness. He never shows remorse for this or other incidents and as soon as he's out of Belle's watchful eye, he does whatever the hell he wants to. (See also: Lacey)
 * Persistent lying or deceit to exploit others
 * All three do this. Snow tries to pretend it isn't deceit. Regina is doing what she was taught all her life was the only means of staying safe—every time she tried for honesty, it blew up in her face. Rumpel gleefully deceives everyone because he's addicted to making deals.
 * Using charm or wit to manipulate others for personal gain or for sheer personal pleasure
 * Snow doesn't do this, unless you count claiming moral purity as "charm."
 * Regina uses charm or wit as tools to get what she feels she needs to survive; I don't think we've ever seen her pursue anything purely for personal pleasure. And, again, this is a taught behavior—she did not do this to, say, Daniel, and in the beginning of her relationship with Snow, she brought Snow around to her side by honestly explaining her point of view. Further, she's demonstrably making efforts to return to honesty in her relationship with Henry.
 * Rumpel absolutely does this, when he doesn't just magic his way to whatever he wants.
 * Intense egocentrism, sense of superiority and exhibitionism
 * I submit that Snow's entire worldview is based on egocentrisim and the idea that she is right because she is better. Her entire character oozes smug self-righteousness.
 * Regina has zero self-esteem. Oh, she fakes it well, but there's a reason she lets Henry walk all over her.
 * I... hope that Rumpel's narcissim is self-evident to everyone.
 * Recurring difficulties with the law
 * Skipping this one because (a) I have no idea how FTR laws work besides monarchs call all the shots based on how they feel at the moment, and (b) no one gets in trouble with the law in Storybrooke even though basically every major character blithely breaks them without a thought.
 * Repeatedly violating the rights of others by the use of intimidation, dishonesty and misrepresentation
 * Snow does this once, with Cora. It was a shitty move, but not, by itself, a symptom of ASPD.
 * Regina does this all the time because that's what Cora trained her to do; see what I said earlier about her attempts to unlearn these kinds of habits.
 * The entire premise of every deal Rumpel makes is he's going to screw the other party over somehow.
 * Child abuse or neglect
 * Neither Snow nor Regina abuse their children, and although Regina erred dangerously close to becoming abusive after the curse started breaking, she's taken steps to correct that.
 * Rumpel abandoned his son out of cowardice.
 * Hostility, significant irritability, agitation, impulsiveness, aggression or violence
 * Snow personally kills dozens of people on screen—probably more off as well—has twice punched someone in the face for saying something she didn't like, impulsively decided to kill Cora and followed through on that in the cruelest way possible, etc.
 * Regina has killed hundreds of people, has very little impulse control, and responds to aggression with aggression (though she is very seldom the original aggressor, and even in those cases it has been because she believes she has no other options, for example turning the mermaid into wood)
 * Anyone who is not named Baelfire or (most of the time) Belle is fair game for Rumpel's rage.
 * Lack of empathy for others and lack of remorse about harming others
 * I outlined above why I think that Snow lacks the ability to empathize properly. She can't even muster up an understanding of why David wants to go back to the FTR in season two. I also explained why I don't think her guilt response is valid, namely that she makes a few token efforts at absolving herself of it and then forgets the whole thing.
 * Regina is an extremely empathetic person; she has a very, very good understanding of where people are coming from (see: convincing Belle to use True Love's Kiss on Rumpel after, what, ninety seconds in Skin Deep? or her effortless manipulation of the genie?). That she chooses to use this against people does not change the fact that she has empathy in a way that a sociopath absolutely could not. (note that empathy is not the same as sympathy—empathy is the capacity to recognize what other people are feeling and understand where it comes from). She also, as I have pointed out, feels remorse for what she's done wrong.
 * Rumpel, again, very obviously could not care less what happens to other people and even if he could exercise empathy, I doubt he'd bother using it.
 * Unnecessary risk-taking or dangerous behaviors
 * Snow has twice consumed liquids from known-to-be-dangerous people, one of whom WAS HER ENEMY, without a thought to the consequences. The first time she lost her ability to love at all. The second time she was cursed into infertility. See also: eating that apple.
 * Regina plays it safe whenever possible.
 * Rumpel is so powerful that there really isn't something that COULD be risky or dangerous for him, so this one doesn't really count.
 * Poor or abusive relationships
 * Snow's relationship with David isn't healthy; they can't communicate effectively with each other. That's true of lots of people who aren't ASPD, of course, but it's worth noting.
 * Regina's problems with Henry stem more from the fact that she herself was abused and she's floundering in trying to find a way of loving that isn't Cora's. Worth noting is that she has shown remarkable improvement and, prior to Emma showing up, there's nothing to suggest that she was remotely abusive or neglectful.
 * Everything about Rumpel's relationship with Neal and Belle is twisted and creepy, because he expects them to just do what he says without question.
 * Irresponsible work behavior
 * Skipping this one because it doesn't really apply to any of them.
 * Failure to learn from the negative consequences of behavior
 * Of the three, Regina is the only one who shows any kind of character growth or learning beyond "I should not get caught doing that next time."
 * I advise you to look up the actual symptoms of ASPD. Regina meets almost none of the criteria without external coaching from her mother; Snow meets enough for me to be suspicious of her, and Rumpel is inarguably one.
 * 

So, in conclusion: I don't through around labels like "sociopath" without due consideration. In my opinion, Snow is more than likely a sociopath, Rumpel certainly is, and Cora tried her damnedest to turn Regina into one and failed.