coughing more doesn't get you higher per se; the fact that you have inhaled a large volume of smoke is mainly the reason you cough.... because the lungs are gasping for air and trying to release the smoke from your lungs... and the more you cough, the more smoke you've likely inhaled.... so if you inhale a large amount of smoke and you cough a lot a large amount of THC has most likely reached your brain and you get higher than you would have if you hadn't smoked enough to make you cough. so to answer your question.... yes, somewhat.

Correction:

Coughing is correlated with getting higher because they are both caused by the same thing- inhaling more smoke; there is no causal relationship between coughing and getting higher.

Correction 2: Coughing does indeed get you higher. The act of coughing dialates your lungs increasing how fast said inhalent gets absorbed.