To attain a controlled thermal flow in a contact hole (via hole) in a resist.

The objective positive type resist composition contains one or more components which are preferably substantially stable 1) in soft baking which is a heat treatment before exposure for removing the solvent carrier of an applied resist and 2) in a heat treatment after exposure and before development for accelerating or increasing an acceleration reaction by an acid in an exposed region (typically a deblocked region). The resist is crosslinked in a more intense heat treatment (thermal flow hard baking) after development.