Mac users are special.

In an online survey of 7,500 computer users, Apple computer aficionados believed themselves to be more open-minded, perfectionist and socially and politically liberal than the general population. They also seemed to exhibit a small superiority complex, found Mindset Media, an online advertising network.

“It’s pretty extraordinary,” said Sara Welch, co-founder and chief operating officer of Mindset Media.

Welch said she wasn’t too surprised at the results.

“If you look at the Mac brand and the brand zealots who you know, those people are more likely to be open-minded, liberal and superior,” she said. “It makes intuitive sense, but now we have actual numbers to back up a gut feeling.”

Apple personal computers use a different operating system than Windows-based PCs, powered by Microsoft.

“Macs have a different look and feel,” said Dirk Prescott, a senior international business major and manager of the Nebraska Union’s Computer Store at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

He said Windows-based PCs are better at computing business and financial software and are found in the back rooms of offices. Apples, he said, are more lifestyle computers, great for papers, projects and multimedia.

Prescott disagreed that there are distinct personality traits Mac customers exhibit that Windows-based PC customers don’t.

“Most students are looking for a computer that looks good.”

Price, he said, does make a difference, as Macs are typically more expensive than their Windows counterparts.

Welch said Apple has done a good job of giving their products personality.

“Apple stands for something and has had a clear philosophy and approach to computing since inception. That resonates with the psychograph: being very open and very liberal.”

She said Apple continues to build its brand, reinforcing its image with its supporters.

“Success breeds success,” she said. “The more they hard wire things into your product and continue their approach to computing, the more appealing it is with those kinds of people.”

Prescott said he sees that attitude in some of the Apple customers he serves.

“If someone has a Mac or an iPod, they’ll look specifically for iPod headphones.”

He said the reason could be pure vanity.

“They want everything to match. They want the mouse that’s white, the Apple bag with the Apple logo,” he said.