As with most things, there must be an equal balance for order. Intrinsic motivation has its balances in its advantages and disadvantages. The disadvantages to the intrinsic motivation theory is that the behavior desired to change is very slow. It is done gradually which may take a long period of time (Schunk, 2016).
Another disadvantage found by Schunk (2016) is the time required to prepare for the task and the special attention it may need to complete it. In addition, since people vary in learning styles, different approaches are necessary to promote motivation. As an example, in a classroom, teachers must use different methods to stimulate and motivate students for attention and focus. There is also a problem when rewards are tangible and have are anticipated. When a reward is not received, a person loses interest and performance decreases (Schunk, 2016). This could occur when a person anticipates a promotion for al the hard work and the promotion is given to someone else. In the Behavior Analyst, negative effects are found on high-interest tasks when the rewards are tangible, expected or offered beforehand, and loosely tied to level of performance (Cameron, Banko, Pierce, 2001). A person could receive an incentive prior to work being completed and on the next assignment receive no incentive.