The word reluctance is a word that designates the attitude of doubting or not doing something in a safe and definite way. The reluctance represents those people who in the face of certain activities or acts do not resolve the way they act, but rather doubt and are opposed to this or that option. Reluctance can be helpful in some cases, but it can sometimes also be inconvenient when one is asked to make an important decision.
It cannot be said that reluctance is a permanent attitude or characteristic of certain people, but rather that everyone at some point can demonstrate it when faced with certain situations or circumstances. Thus, even animals can be reluctant to carry out certain activities, although in their case reluctance is not rational, but is guided by instincts and more organic sensations. Normally, animals are reluctant to be moved or removed from their common place and this has to do with the instinct of reaction to fear or a possible threat.
Human beings, on the other hand, show reluctance not only due to sensations or instinct, but also from the rationalization of certain events or circumstances. In this way, a person can be reluctant to travel in a certain vehicle not only because it causes a feeling of fear but also because they have already learned and rationalized that that particular vehicle can be dangerous. The reluctance is not, then, only the doubt, but also the refusal to act as it is supposed. When a person or an animal develops a significant level of reluctance in a certain situation, the qualifying adjective used to designate it is 'reluctant', and this is used for both men and women.
