Selye identified two types of resistance: specific resistance and non?specific resistance. Specific
resistance is the body’s ability to resist a particular stressor to which it has been exposed. Nonspecific
resistance refers to the body’s ability to withstand a stressor qualitatively different from
that to which it had been adapted. In other words, non?specific resistance refers to the ability to
resist a new or additional stressor.
Selye found that both specific and non?specific resistance to a stressor varied depending on the
different phases of the GAS. Moreover, the response to stress varied according to the type of
resistance exerted on it. This work with resistance revealed two very important concepts:
• During the Phase of Counter?shock in Alarm Resistance, organisms experienced an
increased resistance to any and all stressors.
• During the State of Resistance, an organism’s adaptation to one stressor is at the expense
of adapting to other stressors. That is, while an organism is adapted to one stressor, its
ability to withstand new stressors is greatly diminished. (9)