Do Apple lovers really "think different?" What makes those who don't buy Apple products turn away from them? This infographic gets to the bottom of why people buy Apple products, and what keeps them from buying them. And it shows how they feel about those products once they've bought them.

You'll probably agree, there's something about buying an Apple product that makes people act differently. It could be part of that famous "reality distortion field" associated with Steve Jobs, or maybe it's just because Apple products are actually superb. The survey behind this artwork aims to quantify that thinking, measuring the differences of opinion between Apple lovers and Apple haters.

Some of you might say there's no reality being distorted at all, and Apple products are just far superior to its competition. At the same time, many of the 48% of U.S. adults who've never owned an Apple device probably don't think Apple products are insanely great, but point to Apple aficionados as simply insane. Others in that group just plain can't afford Apple's expensive baubles.

What's the truth? It wasn't the mission of market research firm Ask Your Target Market (AYTM) to find out whether subjective opinions and feelings about Apple products were true or not. The goal was to measure the difference in thinking between those who embrace Apple products and those who don't.

Using its Ask Your Target Market research platform, AYTM Research tapped into its huge hoard of 4.5 million consumers to come up with the data behind this lovely infographic. Take a look at the full data set here.

If you're having trouble understanding this unusual infographic, here's a quick guide: On the left side are those who haven't bought Apple products, and on the right are those who have been enveloped in Apple's alleged reality distortion field.

What do you think? Are you trapped in Apple's reality distortion field? Is there even such a thing?

Get Your Tickets to Mashable Media Summit

The Mashable Media Summit 2012 will explore the impact that technology is having on media, and how digital media is affecting our lives and changing the world. This one-day conference will bring together the brightest minds in media, including content creators, technology leaders, entrepreneurs, social media executives and journalists.

Date: Friday, Nov. 2, 2012

Time: 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

Location: The TimesCenter, 242 West 41st Street, New York, NY 10036

Tickets: Purchase early bird tickets on Eventbrite.

A Look Back at Last Year's Mashable Media Summit

Mashable Media Summit 2011

Supporting Sponsor

Sponsorship Opportunities

A limited number of sponsor opportunities are available for the Mashable Media Summit. This is an excellent opportunity to get in front of Mashable’s passionate and influential audience. Contact sponsorships@mashable.com for opportunities.