An American wearable tech company has developed a wristband designed to encourage good habits by causing electric shocks whenever wearers break rules.

The Pavlok is inspired by the theories of Russian psychologist Ivan Pavlov, the father of classical condition who compelled dogs to salivate at the sound of bells, the wristband promises to whip wearers into shape by punishing bad behaviour with shocks. Except this time around, it’s up to wearers to administer the shocks themselves.

"The idea is everybody has these things they know they shouldn't do," says Maneesh Sethi, the engineer behind the electric jolts. "If you start to add a small amount of shock when you do stupid things, you can mostly just increase the awareness of your activity in your daily routine. I like to say that for the last 1,000 years, we've tamed environment, but we haven't tamed ourselves."

Speaking to the Daily Dot, Mr Sethi explained that although shocking yourself might sound counterproductive, research has shown that self-administered volts is even more effective than an automated shock.

The Pavlok delivers an electricity surge measuring two miliamperes, which is claimed to be enough to change habits whilst not inflicting too much pain. You can check out the Pavlok’s promotional video here:

It will go on sale in 2015, expected to retail at $244 (€195).

(H/T: Daily Mail)