What is free will? Are there limits?

What if anything is free will? As, behaviorist such as Jhon Watson, Ivan Pavlov, Edward Thorndike, and B.F. Skinner would probably say it is a product of conditions. My question that I am trying to answer is whether or not there are limitations (boundaries) that determine to what extent our free will is based?

I will first start this discussion by asking what is it to be conditioned. A study was done by Ivan Pavlov his conclusion, "classical conditioning" opens up many doors, and hallways that one could explore as it relates to free will. Classical conditioning is a process by which a neutral stimulus is associated with an unconditional stimulus over and over until the neutral stimulus becomes a conditioned stimulus, causing a conditional response. This process is reflexive (automatic) and therefore, does not admit much room for free will. Whereby, taking this notion as true would require complete disregard for ones own personal perception, cognitive abilities, and Biological chemical differences. Or does it?

Looking inside the ideas, and taking a less bias approach will allow us to uncover the dynamics of classical conditioning. Understanding the surroundings and ones own options with in the environment that they spend their time in is impossible. Trying to understand the world as a whole would be a task that would never be accomplished. For example, if I give the following a hypothetical situation what can one deduce from it? If I live in Oakland Ca, I have no children or girlfriend, but I have many multicultural friends. I grew up in a small town outside of Denver Colorado, where there was only one culture. What explains my attachment to multi-cultured individuals? Is it the lack of experience with culture in general or is it the excitement gained by exploring the unfamiliarity?
Although there can be many factors that contribute to my dieing urge for knowledge, there are way too many variables that are adding into the production of me. Therefore, it would be impossible to measure the real motivation behind my decision to affiliate with the above mentioned types of individuals.

However, what if one was to simplify the scenario? Take for example; if 50 individuals lived in a room for 20 years, and they had all the food and water, as well as T.V. and entertainment they would need. Would they adapt to one another’s personalities? (meaning, would the 50 individuals begin to like and dislike, the similar stimulus or would they maintain there own personal preferences, and judgments?) If they maintain their personal preferences then we can only deduce that there seems to be a kind of free will or will power. However, if they have even a slight bit of change then we may deduce that there are limitations to free will within those individuals. Moreover, if a ratio of those individuals’ personalities where to change; we may conclude that there seems to strength factor included in free will (some of these individuals are more prone to adapt to their environment, while others are not).

To Be Continued...