How strongly do the concepts of play and intrinsic motivation overlap? A narrative review

This narrative review explores the overlap between play and intrinsic motivation, with a focus on educational contexts. While many intuitively suspect these constructs intersect, their theoretical frameworks largely developed separately. Intrinsic motivation is central to self-determination theory, commonly applied in education, whereas play is often viewed more narrowly, especially as actions of young children or as serious games in education. Attempts to use play to address motivational challenges in education have shown mixed results. This article examines the scope of intrinsic motivation and play by exploring their functional, biological, neurological, conceptual, and historical commonalities, suggesting that they share a substantial overlap that is not always made explicit in educational theory and practice. Recognizing this overlap may help clarify why certain educational approaches succeed or fail and may inform more autonomy-supportive responses to motivational challenges in education.