"carl participated in a protest against police brutality. during the protest, a few members of the protest group started vandalizing public property. carl, who is otherwise calm and controlled, also joined them in vandalizing the property. in this scenario, carl's behavior illustrates "

The correct answer is the contagion theory.

In the area of social sciences, the contagion theory refers to the process in which group influence or being part of a crowd has an almost hypnotic effect on individuals, making them behave in emotionally charged or irrational ways. In this instance, being part of a crowd influenced Carl to behave in ways atypical of his general calm and controlled behavior, demonstrating the contagion theory.