The present article discusses psychosocial aspects of modernization and economic development among East Asian nations. The authors suggest that modernization and economic development among those nations known as the "Five Tigers" (i.e., Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Singapore, and Taiwan) was influenced both by a number of economic, historical, and political forces, and by a unique pattern and process of modernization that involved cultural traditions that can best be described as "Easternization" rather than Westernization. The article discusses the East Asian values and behavior patterns associated with "Easternization," and reviews the research literature regarding modernization, pointing out the problems that arise when we fail to distinguish between Westernization and modernization. Easternization is considered an alternative pathway to modernization and economic development.