All the majors seem to do similar assessments prior to interviews. I’m just curious, when did this start, and why?

Maybe I'm wrong, but I just imagine ~30 years ago, you applied (via paper application?) and you were selected for an interview based on your aviation experience. Not on whether you can answer some psychological assessment or arrange blocks in a certain order.
And that the in-person interview dealt with aviation, and not strange questions about what you’d do in some unrealistic scenario you’re given.
Just curious.