Last week we sought to uncover the truth behind the stereotype: Are Prius owners really just like Mac owners? In a non-scientific fashion, we quizzed our readers about several of the most common stereotypes that seem to follow these two trendy groups: They're arrogant, they think they're better informed than the rest of us, not to mention smarter, more attractive, and more concerned about the environment. They're Obama-supporting, latte-drinking, iPhone-toting snobs who always favor style over substance. Or are they?
Over 1,600 readers responded to our survey -- the most responses to a Casual Friday ever. We asked readers what kind of cars they drive, what kind of computers they use, and then we asked them to rate their agreement (on a scale of 1 to 5) with a few statements that are typically applied to Mac/Prius owners. This graph gives a snapshot of some of the results:
Prius owners were significantly more likely to say their personal decisions have an impact on the world than non-owners. The same held true for Mac owners -- and there's no significant difference between results for Prius owners and Mac owners. This same relationship held in several other categories: Concern for the environment, support for Barack Obama, and belief that humans can stop global warming. But there were also some differences. Prius owners thought they were significantly less attractive than both non-Prius-owners and Mac owners. But Prius owners felt they were significantly more successful in life than both Mac owners and non-Prius owners. So are Prius owners just more successful, less attractive Mac owners? Not so fast.
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