Explaining how/why Eren is a psychopath/sociopath for funnsies (it's a very long post)
So, some days ago I was thinking about how whenever I or anyone else says we think Eren Yeager has some kind of cluster B personality disorder someone shows up to tell us we are wrong and don't understand the character; but, then I realized that I haven't actually explained my reasons and why I think this, so here's this post to do just that.
first of all, I think, when I say Eren is a psychopath/has aspd/whatever you wanna call it people think that I'm saying Eren is evil, that he's just an evil psycho that decided to do the rumbling and murder billions of people cause he's just an evil monster and that's it; there's no reason other than he just wanted to kill billions of people, thought it'd be fun. That is not what I'm saying. First of all, I don't believe that people with ASPD are necessarily bad people. I'm not making a judgment on Eren moral character, rather I'm presenting my theory on one factor that makes Eren the way he is, and really it's all just for fun.
My understanding of ASPD is based on the DSM-5 (my copy of the DSM-5 was printed in 2013) and various accounts from people diagnosed with ASPD, but I'm not a professional so, obviously, this isn't meant to be educational. I will also note that technically a person can not be diagnosed with ASPD until they are 18 years of age; but, since Eren is not a real person (in this reality) and we aren't actually diagnosing anyone, we are going to ignore that.
I will list the criteria for ASPD and indicated which one I believe apply to Eren and which ones don't.
According to the DSM-5 the criteria for ASPD are as follows: A. "A pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of of the rights of others as indicated by 3 or more of the following"
"Failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behavior, as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest" Yes. I'm gonna say this one does pertain Eren. Him murdering 3 people is a pretty substantial example of an act that would be grounds for arrest, He also makes attempts to physically assault people on at least 2 occasions in the 1st two episodes. One being an old man and the other a Military officer, this showing his disregard for authority. His disregard is also shown when he is disappointed that Levi actually follows orders, and again when he's about the disregard orders himself and transform during the female titan chase, and then also basically all of season 4.
"deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure." No, but also Yes, actually. I don't think Eren is ever really deceitful other than not telling anyone about the future memories or about the the royal blood titan Dina; which was to protect Historia (and also I think to prevent the military from attempting to feed him to someone else and thus preventing him from actually accomplishing anything) and his infiltration into Marley, but since that was an undercover military operation (that was un authorized and that he just decided to do himself) deceitfulness in these instances is not indicative of a pattern of behavior. Although the fact that he lied by omission for 4 years while creating a cult following to form a coupe that would take over the government shows that he is very capable and willing to be extremely deceitful when it suites his goals. So, actually Yes this kinda does apply to Eren.
"Impulsivity or failure to plan ahead." Yes. See Eren's entire character. Ok, he actually is really good at long term planning and maintaining a goal; see Him deciding to join the scouts at like 8 and then never wavering and following through on that at (what 14?) See basically all of season 4. However, Eren is impulsive and doesn't plan ahead, in the moment. He is emotionally charged and as such will charge into situations without thinking and without considering the consequences.
"Irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults." Yes. See Eren attempting to assault an old man in the 1st episode, also attempting to assault a military officer in the 2nd, also see him violently headbutting Mikasa in (the 4th or 5th??)
"Reckless disregard for safety of self or others." Yes. See Eren's entire character. He's called a suicidal maniac for a reason. He does also seem to have a slight disregard for others safety, not because he doesn't care about them, he wants them to be safe, but it seems that his valuing others doesn't temper his actions; however, I think this fits better as evidence under criteria number 3.
"Consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work behavior or honor financial obligations." No, I don't think this one applies to Eren.
"Lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another" If you asked someone to explain what ASPD or psychopathy is I think there's a pretty high chance they'll say something about lack of remorse, and Yes, this one does, also, apply to Eren. See him murdering 3 adult men and immediately justifying it (whether or not you agree that the 3 human trafficker's deserved what they got isn't relevant.) , see Eren killing a bunch of people by throwing Annie onto a building and then never even mentioning it (that might be anime only Idk; I heard that fight was different in the manga)
So according to the DSM-5 You need 3 of the above 7 criteria; Eren has 5 or 6. If He existed in the real world he would 100% be diagnosed with some kind of cluster B personality disorder if not ASPD. On to some other points that aren't listed as criteria in the DSM-5; I've watched/viewed contend by a number of people diagnosed with ASPD; so, some things I've noted:
People with ASPD often suffer from boredom; They are bored easily. and Kid Eren was also very bored
They also tend to have 'dead eyes' or eyes that look empty and without emotion. It might be weird to link this to Eren because his Bright and expressive Teal Eyes are like one of his defining features but look at His eyes as a kid and especially before meeting Armin, before Mikasa, before Armin shows him the book and tells him about his dream to see the outside world. Before any of this Eren's eyes are pretty dead.
I've seen people argue that its because of the world he lives in. That the violence and trauma of the world he's in makes him this way. I disagree; I think that the world being the way it is in AOT is what gives Eren a semblance or normalcy. Fighting Titans gives him something to do and focus his aggression on. I think one way to tell if a character behavior is because of the world or because of their innate self is to compare them to other people in that world and the other people we see in AOT don't have the same or really even a very similar mind to Eren. He is clearly abnormal.
I could probably say more but I'm gonna stop... for now at least.
