The rate constants for quenching of the singlet- and triplet-excited state of acetone and a cyclic azoalkane by the hydrogen donors tributyltin hydride, 1,4-cyclohexadiene, and 2-propanol have been determined by time-resolved spectroscopy. It is concluded, in variance with previous studies, that singlet-excited states are significantly more reactive than triplet-excited states and that the reactivity difference between the two states of different spin multiplicity increases (i) with decreasing reactivity of the hydrogen donor and (ii) with increasing singlet-triplet energy gap of the excited state. This result is corroborated by semiempirical calculations. The relative efficiency for photoreduction by tributyltin hydride, which was determined by monitoring the formation of tributyltin radicals upon flash photolysis, was found to be four times lower for singlet-excited acetone than for the triplet state. The discrepancy between higher reactivity but lower efficiency in the intermolecular interaction of n,pi*-excited singlet states with hydrogen donors is attributed to efficient radiationless deactivation, which has been predicted by correlation diagrams as a viable pathway for singlet-excited states.