Memory for recognising things is better than memory for recalling things.
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People are better at recognising things they have previously experienced than they are at recalling those things from memory
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Because recognition tasks provide memory cues that facilitate searching through memory
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For example, it is easier to provide the correct answer for a multiple-choice question than it is for a fill-in-the-blank question because multiple-choice questions provide a list of possible answers; the range of search possibilities is narrowed to just the list of options. Short answer questions provide no such memory cues, so the range of search possibilities is much greater.
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For example, early computer systems used a command line interface, which required recall memory for hundreds of commands. The effort associated with learning the commands made computers difficult to use. The contemporary graphical user interface, which presents commands in menus, allows users to browse the possible options, and select from them accordingly. This eliminates the need to have the commands in recall memory, and greatly simplifies the usability of computers.
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Decision-making is also strongly influenced by recognition. A familiar option is often selected over an unfamiliar option, even when the unfamiliar option may be the best choice