Arylcyclopropylcarbenium ions, Ar(c-Pr)CH+, were generated as transient intermediates by laser flash photolysis (LFP) of trans-2,3-diphenylaziridinimines of aryl cyclopropyl ketones in 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol (TFE). The carbocations are thought to arise by way of diazo compounds and carbenes. Rate constants for the unimolecular decay in TFE and for the bimolecular reaction with methanol in TFE were obtained for Ar(c-Pr)CH+ and for analogous arylphenylcarbenium ions, ArPhCH(+). Within these series, the cation stabilizing abilities of cyclopropyl and phenyl groups are found to be similar in magnitude. However, cyclopropyl responds more strongly than phenyl to increasing electron demand. Hence cyclopropyl is superior to phenyl in cation stabilizing ability for Ar = Ph but inferior to phenyl for Ar = 4-MeOC(6)H(4).