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.
Pertussis [edit]. Pertussis (or whooping cough) is an infection of the respiratory system characterized by a âwhoopingâ sound when the person breathes in. In the US, it killed between 10,000 and 20,000 people per year before a vaccine was available.t may become airborne when the person coughs, sneezes, or laughs. Pertussis vaccine is part of the diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis (DTaP) immunization. The paroxysmal cough precedes a crowing inspiratory sound characteristic of pertussis.