I don't know if they do it the same everywhere, but in my experience when sorting job candidates some companies tend to split you into two groups each group given the same task and compare your 'team' performance.
In reality they compare your individual performance of course, but you 'feel' like it is the group performance. Still, there is a part of your brain that remembers you are a candidate so you don't want to be too pushy, but also be a leader, but also a team player etc.

I've done this sort of thing 3 or 4 times and somehow I always ended up on the losing team, and I've noticed some dynamics always repeat themselves.

For example, this one time (in band camp... ) they gave us a stack of cards and told us to build the highest tower we could in the few minutes allotted for the exercise. The team gathered to plan our steps and we agreed on a simple enough plan:
1. Since none of us had ever build a card tower, we'll split to smaller micro-teams of 1 to 3 people, each trying to figure out the trick for building levels
2. Once one micro-team figures it out, we'll scale up by joining all our forces and replicating the trick.

Now what usually happens on a losing team, is the solution for the first step fails to materialize. As time passes some of the micro-teams start to panic and join forces even though they really have nothing going. Then the other candidates do not want to be seen as apart from the coalescing group and ditch their individual efforts. And that way you get a giant one level building like we did

BUT, being on a losing team is a blessing really, because the interviewers tend to ask the losing side tougher questions which gives you the chance to stand out. And it is interesting to see people's tendency to seek safety in numbers. For example in my case one guy said "it's true we did not have a taller building but our foundation was really strong and given time we could have surpassed the other team." Then another guy said "yes, I agree with first guy" and so on.

Then the interviewer asked me what I thought about it, and I was in the awkward position of having to contradict my teammates but not berating them for the fuckups they are, or sounding condescending

And you know what... It was getting hard to remember we weren't really a team, but a collection of candidates, some vying for the same position.

So if this kind of thing can work on a fake team maybe it can affect a real team ? Hmmm