The major purpose of the present study was to investigate sex differences among black college students in need for achievement (n Ach). 60 freshmen and seniors who served as subjects were administered the TAT. A 2 × 3 × 2 factorial design was used with sex, task orientation, and grade level as the independent variables. The results showed black females to be higher on n Ach than black males and that n Ach increased with grade level. These findings were interpreted in line with a “matricentric structure of black families” hypothesis and “internal control” theory, respectively. Task-orientation conditions did not affect n Ach.
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