In September, ARI deployed its largest survey to date on topics related to Ayn Rand and Objectivism to learn the different paths people take in discovering and exploring Rand’s ideas. 4,421 total respondents participated in the survey, representing more than 10% of total recipients, 3,489 of which defined themselves as Objectivists.

After a thorough analysis of the survey data, ARI learned that the three most common pre-Objectivist engagements of Objectivists are reading fiction by Ayn Rand (70%), reading non-fiction by Ayn Rand (49%) and reading Objectivist works by authors other than Ayn Rand (21%). Note: respondents could select more than one pre-Objectivist engagement activity.

Below are a few additional key findings from the survey results:

• The average age at which one first considers themselves an Objectivist is twenty-eight
• Fifty percent of Objectivists first considered themselves Objectivists when they were students
• The most common engagement activity for current Objectivists is viewing ARI web content (61%), followed by viewing Objectivist content on YouTube (53%) and reading works by Objectivist authors other than Ayn Rand (53%). Note: respondents could select more than one post-Objectivist engagement activity.

ARI will use this valuable information to more effectively communicate to current and prospective audiences. Plans to deploy follow up surveys to gain additional details from respondents who define themselves as Objectivist, former Objectivist and non-Objectivist are already under way.