hesitation

thumb|Angelica Kauffman, Self-Portrait Hesitating Between the Arts of Music and Painting (1794). thumb|Charles Jacque, ''L'hésitation'' (1841), showing a dog in a position indicating hesitation. Hesitation or hesitating is the psychological process of pausing in the course of making a decision or taking an action, typically due to uncertainty as to the best course of action. Hesitation is described in both positive and negative terms, with some perceiving it as an indication of thoughtfulness, while others characterize it as a sign of indecisiveness or lack of the will to act. In literature, a period of hesitation on the part of a key character has sometimes been depicted as having substantial consequences.

==Psychology== Psychologically, hesitation can be described as "the period of inactivity during which the struggle amongst the nascent activities of different mechanisms is proceeding, during which the nascent activities of the mechanisms is alternating". Although hesitation is a form of pause, not all pauses are instances of hesitation. A pause may serve some other purpose, and it has been noted that "the term pause sometimes implies a more or less 'regular' feature of production, whereas hesitation implies an irregularity, an intrusion or disruption in production". Hesitation has been described as "one of the most difficult habits for the student to overcome".