noun, Psychology. 1. Also called operant conditioning, instrumental conditioning. a process of changing behavior by rewarding or punishing a subject each time an action is performed until the subject associates the action with pleasure or distress.
Pertussis is caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis. It is an airborne disease which spreads easily through the coughs and sneezes of an infected person. People are infectious to others from the start of symptoms until about three weeks into the coughing fits.
Whooping cough (pertussis) facts. 1  Whooping cough (pertussis) is an acute, highly contagious respiratory infection that is caused by the bacterium Bordetella pertussis.  Whooping cough commonly affects infants and young children but can be prevented by immunization with the pertussis vaccine.