Data to the study "A New Face of the Disability Paradox: Positive Asymmetry in Usability"

The disability paradox has thus far been understood to pertain to subjective, overly positive evaluations made by persons with disabilities (PWDs) in terms of their own health, life satisfaction, and perceived support. This study was conducted with the aim of extending the understanding of the disability paradox to the context of usability evaluations. Focusing on Face Controller (FC), a head-activated system designed for users with physical disabilities, we investigated differences in its usability dimensions between persons with disabilities (PWDs) (N = 30) and able bodied (PNDs) (N = 32) participants. Following the ISO 9241-11 standard, we examined objective and subjective measures of usability, with the results indicating significant asymmetry of evaluations between the two groups. Compared to the able-bodied participants, the PWDs had lower effectiveness and performance efficiency (objective measures), whereas their satisfaction and perceived usability of the FC system (subjective measures) were both higher. These results can indicate a new face of the disability paradox expressed in excessively positive evaluation of the computer system on the part of the PWDs relative to PNDs. The results of this work can help enhance the understanding of the ways in which PWDs conceptualize and evaluate their reality, with extension to usability evaluation in the human-computer interaction area.