We study the problem of screening in decision-making processes under uncertainty, focusing on the impact of adding an additional screening stage, commonly known as a 'gatekeeper.' While our primary analysis is rooted in the context of job market hiring, the principles and findings are broadly applicable to areas such as educational admissions, healthcare patient selection, and financial loan approvals. The gatekeeper's role is to assess applicants' suitability before significant investments are made. Our study reveals that while gatekeepers are designed to streamline the selection process by filtering out less likely candidates, they can sometimes inadvertently affect the candidates' own decision-making process. We explore the conditions under which the introduction of a gatekeeper can enhance or impede the efficiency of these processes. Additionally, we consider how adjusting gatekeeping strategies might impact the accuracy of selection decisions. Our research also extends to scenarios where gatekeeping is influenced by historical biases, particularly in competitive settings like hiring. We discover that candidates confronted with a statistically biased gatekeeping process are more likely to withdraw from applying, thereby perpetuating the previously mentioned historical biases. The study suggests that measures such as affirmative action can be effective in addressing these biases. While centered on hiring, the insights and methodologies from our study have significant implications for a wide range of fields where screening and gatekeeping are integral.

翻译：我们研究了不确定性决策过程中的筛选问题，重点关注增加额外筛选阶段（通常称为“门禁”）的影响。虽然主要分析基于招聘市场背景，但相关原理和发现可广泛适用于教育招生、医疗患者筛选及金融贷款审批等领域。门禁的职责是在进行重大投入前评估申请人的适配性。研究表明，虽然门禁旨在通过过滤可能性较低的候选人简化筛选流程，但有时会不经意间影响候选人的决策过程。我们探讨了引入门禁可能提升或阻碍流程效率的条件，并分析了调整门禁策略如何影响筛选决策的准确性。研究还扩展至门禁受历史偏见影响的场景——尤其在招聘等竞争性环境中。我们发现，面对统计性偏见的门禁流程时，候选人更易放弃申请，从而加剧前述历史偏见。研究表明，平权行动等措施可有效应对此类偏见。尽管研究以招聘为核心，但其见解与方法对广泛涉及筛选与门禁的领域具有重要启示意义。