psychological moment

American  

noun

1. the proper or critical time for achieving a desired result.

   She found the right psychological moment to make her request.

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psychological moment British  

noun

1. the most appropriate time for producing a desired effect

   he proposed to her at the psychological moment

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Etymology

Origin of psychological moment

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

Mending his forlorn heart has built a resilience which helped McIlroy to execute special shots shortly after tough psychological moments on his path to Masters glory.

From BBC

But it is the film's psychological moments that engage the emotions.

From Salon

“Putin has a thing about going down in history. This was his story, and Ivanov entered his territory…. It was an important psychological moment.”

From Reuters

The Times was suitably impressed by his "knowledge of human nature, and an extremely shrewd application of business principles in securing the advantage at the psychological moment".

From BBC

In his rehearsal, he urges his dancers to get uncomfortably close to one another, to find “those weird psychological moments.”

From Washington Post