This comparison concerns the prediction of (1) success at complex tasks and (2) the presence of unusual shifts in aspiration level following success or failure. The Kogan-Wallach formulation generates predictions concerning these dependent variables without recourse to a concept of the need for achievement. These predictions, furthermore, both yield empirical results that account for significantly more variance (p < .05) in the responses of a sample of 96 high school boys than do comparable predictions from need achievement theory. The interpretation stresses a distinction between merely trying hard and learning from one's mistakes.