Even if they were not consciously doing so, feelings of risk may have acted as an important retrieval cue in the context.
Recognition memory is usually more accurate because the words are available as retrieval cues.
Context had become associated with the material they were trying to recall and therefore was serving as a retrieval cue.
At the same time, retrieval cues for these items are no longer as effective as without the distractor.
Second, although the correct retrieval cues may be used, they may still produce an incorrect memory.
In such cases, retrieval cues continue to be associated and aimed at recalling previously learned information, affecting the recall of new material.
In this case, retrieval cues are associated with the new information and not the older memory.
It serves the function of storing retrieval cues without having to use short term memory.
Furthermore, a good retrieval cue must be consistent with the original encoding of the information.
Depending on the age of a person, retrieval cues and skills may not work as well.